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We All Fall Down/Chapter Twelve
Chapter Twelve: Just a Hop, Trip, and Fall Away “This is possibly the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.” Isaac leered at Avery. “You must have a fantastic sex life, then. I have done people much worse.” The drama queen rolled her eyes, though she was too distracted by the challenge in front of her to think of a snappy comeback. Each of the eleven competitors that remained in the challenge was standing on their own plate-sized platform that was elevated high above the ocean. They were arranged in a circle, with many scattered, smaller platforms leading in the direction of the large, x-shaped object in the center. “Okay, I give up, Chris.” Risty shouted to the host. “What is that?” “That, my lovely soon to be soaking wet contestants, is round two!” Chris had a comic book villain grin on his face, excitedly dancing in place. “Seriously, dudes, these challenges are why I signed on to the show. I live to see you guys get hurt!” “I’m suddenly very glad that I’m not in this round.” Angel remarked from where he and the other five losers sat on the dock. “Ditto.” Allison agreed. “I’m not okay with this!” Elena shrieked. “I should be up there instead of that vain pretty boy!” “Hey!” Victor exclaimed. The socialite rolled her eyes. “Not you! I meant Gabe!” “Elena, if I’m stuck sitting on the sidelines with you, you’re going to have to shut your trap.” Monique ordered, clamping her hands over her ears. “Well, Gabe’s just a waste of space!” Elena whined. “That mental midget can’t do jack, and he’s so concerned with looking good on camera that he won’t even try to be useful!” “I love that you’re ignoring the fact that the same thing could be said about you.” Donna deadpanned. “In part two of the obstacle course,” Chris yelled into his bullhorn to be heard over the squabbling losers, “you’re going to have to make it to the center of that lovely blue thing in front of you, which will start spinning on my cue. If you get hit by one of the arms and aren’t left paralyzed with pain, you can go back to your original platform and try again.” The camera zoomed in on the spinner, where two long ropes dangled from a higher platform. “If you somehow make it to the middle, you have to climb up one of these ropes to reach one of the two identical upper courses. There, you’ll be faced with four gaps, which you have to cross using a rope swing, monkey bars, a tire swing, and a balance beam. Once you’re off the balance beam, press the button. The first five competitors to ring in get to move on to the next round … the rest of you will have done all this work for nothing!” “Why do you make these rounds so unnecessarily complicated?” Victor complained. Chris shrugged. “No clue. I do just about as much challenge designing as you do.” His bullhorn let out a screech. “Let’s get this thing a-spinning, shall we?” The x-shaped obstacle in the center of the course whirred to life, and its four short arms extended into much longer ones. It began to rotate at a crawl but was quickly accelerating, and Chris honked the horn again. “Go, dudes, go!” The spinner had picked up speed and was heading directly for the contestants. Minerva, Wes, Risty, and Sebastian dodged the first arm with ease and began to hop across the platforms, though it managed to knock Gabe from his perch. “Told you so!” Elena hollered from the dock. “Nobody asked for your input, Elena!” Sebastian growled back, hopping over the swiftly approaching second arm. Irina, Paul, and Isaac cleared the second arm when it came their way, though it grazed Avery’s heel, knocking the shoe off of her foot. “''NOOOOOOOO!” The diva’s eyes were as wide as vinyl records as one of her priceless pumps hurtled into the water. She dropped to her knees in defeat, longingly reaching out for her shoe. “My baby …” “Aw, that’s too bad!” Ophelia cooed as she skipped over an arm, her hair forming a pale halo around her face. “Those shoes were nice!” “Nice? ''Nice?!” Avery repeated. “They were way more than nice-“ “Incoming, Ave!” Irina cautioned her friend. Avery looked up just in time to see an arm heading straight for her. She curled up in a ball, the spinner skimming her back but passing right over her. “Leave the shoe behind!” Avery glared at Irina. “These are two hundred dollar Timmy Lous!” “Well, genius, I guess you shouldn’t have brought something so expensive on the show.” Victor retorted as he stepped onto the platform beside the drama queen. “You knew how messy this game could get, but you still brought your favorite shoes.” “They’re all my favorite shoes!” She gazed wistfully down at the spot where her heel had sunk into the ocean. “And now it’s probably a fish’s home.” The actor remarked. “Look at that, you’re helping nature!” “Excuse me, was I talking to you?” The Jersey girl snapped over the sound of Irina falling into the water. “I can’t help but comment on something stupid.” With a snort, Avery ducked under the approaching arm and bolted after Victor on the smaller platforms. When she caught up, she used her bare foot to kick him off-balance. The Romeo flailed his arms and then let out a melodramatic sigh before toppling into the ocean. “Oh, sorry, I can’t help but try to get rid of something stupid.” Avery mocked in a sing-song, sticking her tongue out at Victor. In her bragging, the drama queen had momentarily forgotten that the spinner had four arms. She was smacked in the back and sent tumbling into the water right after the actor. When she resurfaced, she let out an angry yelp. “Oh, come on!” Next thing she knew, something pelted her in the forehead. She grabbed the weapon before it could sink into the water, only to grit her teeth when she realized what it was. She’d been hit by her own shoe. “Take that!” Victor crowed. Confession Cam Victor: “That was revenge for the kick to the 'nads during our duet! You don’t get away with humiliating me in front of an audience! No matter how small the crime,” He narrowed his eyes, “I forget nothing.” “Look out!” Minerva called out, springing over an arm as it passed by her. On the platform beside her, Risty heeded her warning and leapt immediately after her. While she had easily cleared the height on the first few rotations, the athlete was surprised to find that this time the arm had brushed the toe of her sneaker. “Is it just me, or is it getting higher?” Risty asked, flinching when she heard Ophelia scream as she hit the water. “Oh, yeah, right.” Chris grinned sheepishly. “Did I forget to mention that?” “I could’ve used a little warning!” The jock said, bounding to the next platform. The narcissist laughed. “Too late for that now.” At the center platform, Paul climbed onto the base of the spinner and snagged the end of one of the ropes. Being an experienced climber from his many summers at camp, he shimmied up towards the higher obstacles, wrapping the rope around his foot as he ascended in order to keep his arms from tiring out. Wes grabbed onto the second rope and used his long reach to quickly make his way up. When he was halfway up the rope, somebody grabbed onto his ankle and ripped him off of the rope. The musician fell hard on his back onto the base of the spinner. He looked up to see who his attacker was, shocked to see Sebastian hanging onto the end of the rope. “What the hell, man?” Wes groaned. “I’m on your team!” “My mistake.” The gambler’s tone lacked sympathy as he pulled himself upwards. The songbird got up and began to climb the end of Paul’s rope. “What’s your deal? I’ve done nothing to you!” “Nice guys always finish last, Wes.” Sebastian sped towards the upper platforms without a second glance at his teammate. The annoyed guitarist rolled his eyes before putting all of his focus back on scaling the rope. Meanwhile, Paul had crossed the first of the upper level obstacles, the rope swing. He shook out his cramped hands before grabbing on to the monkey bars. Using the hand-over-hand method, he kept a firm pace until reaching the other side of the gap. Landing on the next platform, he examined the tire swing. “Thank you, Camp Yellow Creek!” The Boy Scout fearlessly lunged for the familiar obstacle, putting his right foot through the hole in the tire and leaning his weight towards the next platform. He landed smoothly on the end of the balance beam and steadily walked across it. When he reached the end, he slammed his fist onto the button. “Yeah, Paulie!” Allison cheered from the dock. “Holy cow! Believe it or not, we already have our first finalist!” Chris clapped for the do-gooder. “Y’all still stuck in the spinner need to get your butts into gear.” “Come on, Emmys! If you had me out there, you’d be done by now!” Elena howled. “We need to win!” “Why don’t you come out here and win, then?” Gabe fired back. “Oh yeah, because you lost in the first round, looo''ooserrrr''!” “Hey, watch who you’re insulting!” Monique protested. “Not all of us who lost are actually losers!” “Jeez, sorry, I’ll rethink my wording next ti-” “''AAAAAAAAHHHH!” Gabe was cut off by a falling Minerva sailing past his head. He stared wide-eyed as she landed in the ocean, the resulting splash hitting Gabe in the face. “Are you okay?!” “Move over, good looking people coming through!” Avery bumped Gabe aside as she made her way to the center platform. Irina followed, giving Gabe an apologetic glance when she passed. As the rich boy got back onto his feet, the buzzer rang above him. “And Sebastian’s in round three!” Chris announced, lightly adding, “No surprise there.” “Figures the cheater would make it in.” Wes grumbled under his breath, his frustration momentarily distracting him and sending him flying off the tire swing. The musician yelped and plugged his nose as he hurtled head-first into the ocean. He broke the surface in a clutter of thrashing limbs and rapid breaths. “Somebody get me out of here!” Ophelia turned around at the sound of her friend’s screaming. “Just do the doggie paddle!” Wes’s gangly arms arched through the water in an action that look nothing like a doggie paddle, his body barely staying afloat. “It’s not working!” “I’ll save you!” Ophelia hopped over to the platform nearest Wes and dove into the sea. Despite the fact that the guitarist was much taller than she was, the artist threw his arms around her neck and guided him to the safety of one of the starting platforms. Unaware of the valiant rescue occurring below her, Risty calmly crossed the balance beam and smacked the button waiting for her. “Looks like we have a representative for the ladies in the final round!” Chris said. “Good work.” Sebastian complimented Risty from where he waited by the button. “You too.” She answered with a thumbs up. On the other set of platforms, Isaac was moving on to his second try at the monkey bars. Aware that this had never been his favorite thing to do in elementary school recess, he decided to focus on his technique, moving slowly and steadily across the bars. He safely dropped down to the next platform and was about to start the tire swing when a very familiar voice spoke up behind him. “I just knew I’d run into you up here.” The underachiever turned around to see Avery standing at the opposite end of the monkey bars. He flashed her a crooked smirk. “I’m surprised you were willing to break a sweat.” “I’m sweating?!” Avery raised her hands to her face in fear, though they came back dry. “You liar!” “I just wanted to see your reaction.” Isaac snickered, reaching out to pull the tire swing closer to him. “You know, you’re a lot more competitive without Cara around.” The drama queen taunted the slacker. “Normally you wouldn’t have ever attempted the first obstacle. Seems to me that the skinny sack of granola’s holding you back.” “Don’t talk about her like that!” He demanded. “I’d much rather have her around than a stuck-up bitch like you!” “Oh, don’t be so harsh, Isaac.” Avery purred. “Save up all your emotions for when Cara gets eliminated after this challenge.” “That's total bull! I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but nobody’s stupid enough to vote for her over you!” “That’s what you think.” “What’ve you done to show us you deserve to be here? Mourn the loss of your shoe?” The Jersey girl cocked her hip. “It’s not about what I’ve done, it’s what Cara ''hasn’t. She threw the first round because she was so sad that her roommate was a liar. If you ask me, she should’ve known what she was getting into and been prepared for this. Friends betray friends on every episode of this show.” A buzzer rang out from the other set of platforms. Avery and Isaac glanced over to see that, surprisingly enough, Victor had joined Sebastian and Risty at the end of the course. “Okay, just when I thought Victor disappeared off the face of the earth, he’s back! And … in the final round?” The doubt in Chris’s voice was obvious even through the megaphone. “Seriously, guys, how did this happen?” “Don’t doubt me!” Victor hollered down to the host, pushing back his wet hair. “Lady Luck is apparently feeling nice today, but I’m not!” The host said. “There’s still only one spot left in the finals!” “A spot that will be mine.” Isaac jumped onto the tire swing as Avery began to cross the monkey bars. As he landed on the balance beam, he looked over his shoulder in time to catch Avery diving to grab the tire swing. She managed to get a strong hold on the rope, but her foot hooked around the tire, causing her jump to become more of a flop forward. The diva wrapped her arms around the balance beam to save herself, her feet dangling freely below her and the tire swinging away from her. She struggled to pull herself up, finding that her grip just wasn’t strong enough. “I’m stuck!” She whimpered. “Good riddance.” Isaac scowled. “Isaac, please!” The drama queen looked down at the obstacles waiting many, many feet beneath her. “I need help!” “You’ll land in the water.” “You don’t know that! I could hit the spinner or a platform or another contestant!” Avery scraped at the balance beam, desperate to catch her grip. “Whatever I hit is going to hurt. Please don’t let me fall!” Isaac froze when he saw the genuinely panicked look in Avery’s upturned eyes. He watched with wide eyes as her hands began slipping from the beam, her body coming closer and closer to a hard collision with the ocean. Avery squeezed her eyes shut when she completely lost her grip, only to be startled by a warm hand around her wrist. She opened her eyes to find Isaac dragging her up onto the balance beam. “Happy now?” He asked, his grip still tight around her wrist. “Actually, yes.” Avery positioned herself so she was in a well-balanced crouch before looking Isaac in the eye, her expression soft. “Thank you.” Isaac released her wrist, his lips clenched into a tight line. “Don’t expect it to happen again.” He finished the balance beam and stepped onto the final platform, hitting the button to end the round in a burst of rage. Confession Cam Avery: “First he hates me, then he helps me? Ugh, I can’t deal with Isaac’s crap! He’s all over that goody-goody hippie Cara, but he still totally flirts with me!” The drama queen gritted her teeth. “He’s pretty hot, but he’s going nowhere in this game if he keeps up the bipolarity. Eventually, he’ll piss off somebody other than me and we’ll send his dirty ass packing.” “How could that cheater Sebastian get into the next round and I didn’t?” Wes plopped down on the bench at a picnic table. “It’s the swimming that really screwed me over. What was the deal with that? We already had our obligated one water challenge.” Monique clapped a questionably sympathetic hand on his back. “There, there. You’ll get over it.” The teams had taken a break for what was supposed to be an early dinner, though it was more of a late lunch for most of them thanks to the vaguely sentient, totally inedible macaroni and cheese that they’d been served earlier in the day. Chris had led them to a pair of picnic tables on the edge of the woods, where they had a beautiful view of the trees on one side and the metal death trap that was their challenge on the other. Chef delivered a tray of grinders that probably wouldn’t even meet the standards of an underfunded school lunch before he and Chris left to go out for some real food. “I really think we should get a reward for having more people qualify for the final round.” Victor said to his team. “Maybe a cash prize?” “Ha.” Donna scoffed. The Romeo scowled at her over the top of Ophelia’s head. “What’s your problem?” “Chris would never fork up extra cash to us. He wants to keep his pockets full of change and his contestants full of anguish.” As her best friend and her crush tossed retorts back and forth, Ophelia was left sandwiched between them, following their conversation with her eyes. “With the upped budget, he should share the wealth with the stars of the show … stars like me.” The actor pointed at his chest proudly. The smart aleck just shook her head. “Don’t get your hopes up, drama queen.” “Hey, it was worth a shot.” Ophelia defended Victor, breaking her neutrality. She picked up her half of a grinder and took a bite of it, almost all of the fixings falling out the opposite end and onto the table. The pale-haired girl gave the dismembered sandwich a defeated look. “Darn it, I was actually going to eat that.” The artist found herself bombarded with plates as all of her teammates pushed their grinders towards her. “You can have mine.” At the other picnic table, The Oscars had also given up on their grinders and had piled them all on one plate. A bored Allison had relieved the sandwiches of their bread and was feeding the seagulls from the shore, so now a plate of soggy deli meats was rotting at the end of the table. “You’re going to win this challenge for us, right man?” Angel asked Isaac from his perpetual seat at his side. “Of course.” The shaggy haired teen gave a nonchalant tilt of his head towards Paul. “And if I don’t, Mr. Stick-Up-His-Butt will win his merit badge in challenge slaughtering.” Paul lifted a dark eyebrow. “I’d complain about the rude nickname if not for the fact that you’ve suddenly developed some confidence in me.” “What can I say?” Isaac gave his teammate a lopsided smile. “You kind of slay at physical challenges.” “I have to credit the scouting experience that you love to make fun of for that.” The do-gooder proclaimed. “Or it could just be freak luck.” Angel pitched in. He and Isaac chortled in unison, but Paul refused to let them crush his spirits. “As crappy as the world can be, we good people can usually find a way to come out on top.” The Boy Scout lightly nudged Cara, who was slouched on the bench beside him. “Right, Cara?” Cara let out a sigh and a noise that was a strange cross between a grunt and a “meh.” “Hey, check this out!” Paul, Angel, Avery, and Irina turned to look at Allison, who had somehow lured a flock of seagulls in to perch on her arms. “Allison, put those birds down!” Paul rushed down to the beach, frantically shooing away the gathering gulls. Instead of letting the incident distract him, Isaac leaned his head on the table to make his line of sight even with Cara’s. “Still down about the whole Camille thing, huh?” The tree hugger didn’t respond, her eyes breaking their contact to stare at the wood grain of the table. “She’ll be fine, Isaac.” Irina insisted, placing a comforting hand on the other girl’s arm. “Just give her some time.” “She might not have much left on the show …” Avery added in an ominous mutter, her hazel eyes sparkling mischievously at Isaac. “Round three! The final round! The big shebang! The widow maker!” When the contestants groaned at his final term, Chris paused in uncertainty. “That last one was a bit much, wasn’t it? Well, scratch the widow maker thing, but the rest is true! This is the all or nothing round. You fall, and you’re down for good!” “I really think we should take the fact that he’s nearly peeing himself with excitement as a warning.” Risty commented from where she and the other four qualifiers stood. “Agreed.” Sebastian nodded curtly. Chris pulled his bullhorn up to his mouth, letting out a crackle of static as he took a breath. “Shut up, you guys! You don’t even know how hard it’s been to go through so many challenges without mindless violence!” The host began dancing in place. “But that’ll all be made up for right now!” The camera shifted to a shot of the final obstacle, a long, elevated platform with several smaller perches lined up along each of its sides. The main platform was yellow along the edges, but its center was covered in a deep black, slick fabric with several hurdles nailed to it. The thick black strip wrapped around and continued onto the underside of the platform, with a few more hurdles emerging from the bottom. The five qualifiers stared at the contraption around them in mixed confusion and terror. Chris was practically glowing with giddiness. “You five lucky finalists are going to be running on this giant treadmill side by side. When you encounter a hurdle, you have to jump over it. If you somehow go under it, you’re out, because that’s totally lame. The treadmill will get gradually faster to make it more difficult for you and more entertaining for me. While you try to keep up, the losing competitors will be chucking sports balls at you from the surrounding platforms, making it even more difficult and entertaining! Like I said, if you fall off of the treadmill, you’re done. No second chances, no restarts, and definitely no begging and groveling. You hit the water and you’re out. The last person or teammates standing win the challenge and immunity for their team.” “We’ve got this, guys.” Risty held her hands out for a double high five from Victor and Sebastian. She didn’t even receive one, as Sebastian was already in his competitive mindset while Victor was terrified by the thought of receiving a hit to the face. Once the five challengers seemed situated in the center of the treadmill, Chris pulled a remote from his breast pocket. He turned the big red dial on it, and the treadmill hummed as it started up. “Your challenge starts now!” The black mat beneath the contenders’ feet began moving, and the five began walking along at a leisurely pace. When they came to the first hurdle, they had no difficulty stepping right over it. Their crawling speed allowed them to deflect or dodge all of the balls that were launched in their directions. Chris shook his head in disappointment and examined the remote. “This won’t do. Let’s see what happens if I crank the dial up from one … to eleven!” As soon as he changed the speed, the five qualifiers stumbled into a sprint. Unable to keep up, Victor crashed into the next hurdle and flew off the back of the treadmill. “One down!” Sebastian announced. “He’s on our team.” Risty pointed out. “Yeah, but he’s Victor.” As Risty sniggered at Sebastian’s joke, Paul turned to Isaac. “You know, this isn’t as hard as I thought it’d be.” The underachiever grimaced. “Dude, you just jinxed yourself.” “I’m sure I didn’t – good lord!” Paul’s statement was cut off by a basketball to the head. He tumbled to the floor and sailed towards the edge of the platform. At the last second, he was able to climb to his feet and catch up with Isaac again. “I lied, you were right.” “I always am.” Isaac hopped over another hurdle. Beside him, Risty practically glided over it, her long, leanly muscled body built for track and field events. Isaac backtracked a few steps to match Paul's pace. “If we want to win this, we need to get her out.” “What about Sebastian?” Paul questioned. As if on cue, Sebastian was pummeled by a fleet of sports balls and thrown off the side of the treadmill. Paul and Isaac looked over to see Allison and Angel high fiving each other. “We’ve got your backs!” Angel hollered. “Thank – OOF!” In the process of giving the pyromaniac a salute, Paul received a hurdle to the stomach. The wind was knocked out of him and he crumpled to the ground, eventually rolling off the back of the treadmill. “Ooh, tough hit.” Risty commented, matching her bounding strides with Isaac’s shorter steps. “Guess it’s down to just us two, huh?” “Guess so.” Isaac replied, trying to seem casual as he took a nervous gulp. Confession Cam Isaac: “I know what you’re thinking: what’s up with the slacker actually caring about a challenge? Well, I’ve been in the bottom two twice, and at our other elimination I received one of the last stars. When I was sitting there without a star, it hit me: I’m not ready to go home just yet. This final obstacle course was my chance to do something right for once.” As the minutes went on, Risty showed no sign of exhaustion, though Isaac’s legs began to ache from the nonstop running and jumping. The underachiever’s earlier fears were just being confirmed: he could never outlast the athlete in a physical challenge. Fortunately, Isaac was an expert at finding ways around his issues. “Hey, Elena!” The grungy blond called out, his eyes set on the hurdles in front of him. “Where’d you steal your style from, Kooki from The Shore?” “Are you implying that I’m trash?” Elena sneered. “No, I’m implying that you’re just a fake little attention whore who’s living out her fifteen minutes of fame.” “See, I’ve met Kooki, and she’s not as bad as she seems. She’s someone who knows how to plan a publicity stunt to make people interested in her again … something that I grew up doing.” She placed a hand on her chest. “They don’t call me the socialite for nothing.” “I think I saw your hair at a Halloween store.” Isaac continued. “It’s that all-natural stuff, right? Shaved right from the cow’s ass?” “This is all real.” The hotel heiress ran a hand through her perfect waves. Gabe snorted from a few platforms down. “Real as my-” “Whoa, I don’t think you want to get into this.” Minerva cautioned the rich boy. “You know, sometimes I see your sister on the front of the supermarket tabloids. She’s a real catch, all long legs and perfect skin and great butt.” The troublemaker taunted. “I’d really love to check into her honeymoon suite, if you know what I mean.” Elena huffed. “Go right ahead and try. She’s easy.” “Must run in the family.” “Good try, but I’m adopted.” “I’m sure your birth parents don’t regret their decision. After all, if my kid popped out as ugly and annoying as you are, I’d give her away too.” This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Elena grabbed an entire bucket of balls and flung them at Isaac. Just as the projectiles were about to hit his face, the slacker ducked, leaving Risty wide open to receive the fire. The jock was buried in the sports balls, unable to move before she flew off the end of the treadmill. Chris’s jaw dropped. “Did … did Isaac just win?” “Yeah, baby!” Isaac pumped his fist as the treadmill slowed to a stop. “Wow. I really didn’t see that coming.” Chris let out a laugh. “Emmys, I guess I’ll be seeing you tonight at the Team’s Choice Awards.” As Isaac victory danced across the treadmill, he blew a kiss in Elena’s direction. “Thanks for handing me the win, Elena!” When the socialite scoffed at him, the underachiever just chuckled and dove into the water below. “The little light’s on, right?” “Yes, Minerva.” “Then why is the picture not showing?” “Maybe it’d help if you removed the lens cap?” “Right, right …” Minerva giggled nervously as she plucked the cap from her video camera, Gabe’s image immediately coming into view. “Okay, it’s interview time!” The former enemies sat on opposite sides of a booth in the ‘50s Diner set. Gabe had promised Minerva an interview, and even though their team lost and they should probably be discussing the elimination, she was going to make sure he lived up to his word. Minerva spun the camera around to film her own face, a wide smile on her lips. “Hello there, wonderful watchers, Minerva here with another installment of the RealityGossip Behind the Scenes Video Blog … oh, wow, that’s a mouthful! I’ll think of a better name later. Maybe I can just abbreviate it?” “Even RGBSVB is a bit long.” Gabe remarked. “Yeah, it kind of is. Oh, say hi to Gabe!” She turned the camera to face the spoiled boy. He gave it a quick wave before she twisted it back around to face herself again. “I’m not terrified of him anymore! Turns out he’s actually a pretty good guy who doesn’t really hate me … that was mostly Elena.” “''All'' Elena.” Gabe corrected. “Any-who, we’ve just come back from another challenge, which was something that would’ve fit right into TD season one! I can’t tell you what it’s about, but I can say I have quite a few bruises from it. It seemed to be going well, but – spoiler alert! – we lost. Again. But it was close!” Minerva whipped the camera around to face Gabe again. “What do you think about our unexpected loss?” “It’s all Elena’s fault.” The bushy-haired teen stated. “And I’m not just saying that because I hate her. Yes, I think she’s a feral little bitch who doesn’t deserve one cent of her daddy’s money, but this actually was her fault. We’d have won if it weren’t for her stupid move. This’ll probably sound like the pot calling the kettle black, but she was thinking with her ego instead of her brain, and now the whole team has to suffer.” “Do you think the other Emmys agree?” The chatterbox asked. “Definitely. Unless we have another Robert or Camille incident on our hands, that prissy little brat will be voted off tonight.” “It’s amazing how quickly your opinion on her changed. You wouldn’t have said that about her two challenges ago.” “Actually, yes I would have. I’ve hated her since the beginning.” Minerva furrowed her eyebrows. “But why did you work for her for so long? She treated you like you were her slave, and you didn’t get anything out of it.” The question hit a nerve with Gabe, his sarcastic face falling to something a bit more vulnerable. “It doesn’t matter.” “It does matter. Risty said you wouldn’t tell her either, but she knew something was up.” Minerva softly bumped Gabe’s knee with hers under the table. “I don’t care that you started off on the wrong foot with all of us. You’re still a person, and a very good one at that, so you can’t keep everything bottled up inside.” The upper class teen stared down at the table. “I told you, it doesn’t matter. It’ll sound stupid.” “Yeah, and half the things I say sound stupid, but that hasn’t gotten me to shut my mouth yet. You can tell me anything and I won’t judge.” Gabe looked up at her begging blue eyes and then down at the camera. Eventually, he sighed. “Shut that off and I’ll explain.” “Yes, sir!” Minerva held the camera up to film her face. “Sorry, guys, as much as I love to provide the gossip, I have to keep this one private. Talk to you later!” She shut the device off and placed it on the seat next to her. “Go ahead and let it all out.” Gabe fidgeted with the knot in his tie for a few minutes before gathering the courage to speak. “My family is rich, as you should already know, and I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. My parents got me anything I wanted and more, and I’ve always excelled in school, so I’ve never really had to try for anything. My parents or a butler were always at my side, and the only time I’ve ever really been out on my own is at my private academy … but even then my parents have the in with the school, so the faculty are keeping an eye on me.” He ran his hand through his hair, threading his fingers through the curls. “When I auditioned for this show, I didn't even think that this would be my first time experiencing real independence. If something went wrong, I couldn’t just call my dad in to pay off a guy and fix it. The first night that we got here, I was sitting in my room and realized that I was actually alone … and that scared the crap out of me. “I’ve never had to interact with ‘normal’ teenagers, so I wasn’t really sure what to say to you guys to try to get to know you. I don’t know what you do with your free time, so I felt like I couldn’t really relate. Instead of accepting that I was an outsider looking in, I made myself think that I just didn’t understand you all because you were beneath me. After the romance challenge, I heard Elena ranting about her wealth and knew that she was somebody that I’d actually have something in common with. I joined her alliance in the hopes that I’d have an ally in this game instead of having to suffer through it alone. I definitely didn’t expect that she'd be the cause of the suffering. “Elena pushed me around and degraded me and never let me get a word in, but I knew that I’d already pushed you guys away and lost my chances of making a friend. When I ran into Risty after the music videos, I tried to be nice, but I’d already convinced you all that I was nothing but a cocky snob. I didn’t think I could fend for myself, so I kept coming back to Elena, no matter how harsh she got. I hated her, but, as much as I don’t want to admit it, I depended on her.” “If you told somebody what was going on, we would’ve taken you in!” Minerva insisted. “Risty or I would’ve helped you out. We just didn’t know …” “I know you didn’t know. I’d already made you think that I was a shallow jerk, so you hated me at the time.” The rich boy said. “You probably would’ve thought I was making up this story to manipulate you.” “I didn’t hate you!” The motor mouth protested. “I was just scared of you, which is totally different. And Risty didn’t hate you, you just ignored her. You guys'd probably get along if you acted like yourself around her.” “How was I supposed to know that? It looked a lot like hate to me.” “Well, just think: this is all behind you. This challenge has been your new beginning, and you can leave all your social stigmas, fears, and awful alliances behind.” Minerva comforted. “And when Elena gets the boot at the elimination tonight, you and I are going to celebrate!” “We’re all in agreement that we’re going to push everyone to vote for Elena tonight, right?” Victor nodded at Sebastian. “Right.” “I really don’t think we’ll have to push them.” Monique pointed out. “I’m sure they’re all voting for her anyway.” “You might be sure, but we need to be absolutely positive that they’re all on the same page as us.” Sebastian clarified. “One stray vote and it could be one of us going home.” Monique rolled her eyes. “You have nothing to worry about. If they're not on the same page, I’ll force them to change their mind.” “You know, for somebody so tiny, you have a major attitude problem.” Victor observed. “You know, for somebody so ugly, you have a major ego problem.” The designer mocked. The actor stuck up his nose. “Say what you want, but there’s a reason this beautiful face was cast as both Romeo and Juliet.” “Because they weren’t sure which gender you were?” “No – well, maybe, but also because I’m gorgeous-” Sebastian stepped in between his alliance-mates. “Let’s get back to talking about the important matters. Like kicking Elena off.” “Oh my god!” The stairwell door burst open and Elena rushed into the lobby with her hands over her face. “Speak of the devil.” Sebastian muttered. Elena collapsed to the ground and withdrew her hands, revealing a bright red face that was streaked with black from her running mascara. “Oh no, no, no, it’s awful!” “We don’t think it looks that great either.” Victor grimaced. “You really don’t pull of the clown look.” The hotel heiress let out a sob. “Of course I look like I fell out of the ugly tree. I’m crying! Pretty people like me aren’t meant to cry!” “Dare I ask what’s wrong?” Monique questioned with a roll of her eyes. “It’s … it’s just …” The socialite released a pathetic whimper. “It’s Gabe!” The trendsetter sighed, kicking her feet up onto the arm of her chair. “I should’ve known.” “No, no, it’s not any of the usual crap. This is different, this is serious!” Elena sniffled. “That bastard went too far!” “Did he ruin your extensions?” “No, and they’re not extensions. You don’t understand the weight of what he did, Monique. I wanted to go to the confessional but I misplaced my key-” “It’s in the medicine cabinet next to the toothpaste.” The New Yorker interjected. “That would’ve been nice to know a few minutes ago! I left the door cracked so I didn’t lock myself out while I made my short confession, but Gabe broke in while I was gone! He ransacked the room and tore open one of my bags to steal my most prized possession!” “Your bag of fake nails?” Monique asked. Elena sighed dramatically. “No!” “Your hairdryer?” questioned Sebastian. “No!” “Your eyebrow wax?” Victor suggested. “No, and how did you know that I wax my – actually, you know what, it doesn’t matter. What really matters is that he stole something that actually means something to me!” The waterworks started up again, flooding Elena’s eyes with tears. “It was a photo of me and m-my … my birth parents.” The bored looks were wiped from Victor and Monique’s faces, though Sebastian remained hesitant. “I-it’s the only image I have of them, and now it’s gone! Who knows what he did to it? It could be in flames as I s-s-speak! He must’ve been reminded that I was adopted when I said it to Isaac in the challenge and knew it’d be the p-perfect ammo to use against me.” “Where’s Gabe now?” Sebastian asked, still not fully convinced. “He's with Minerva, spinning the story to make him seem like the good guy.” Elena wiped her eyes, smearing her eyeliner even further. “I know I’ve been horrible, but this is just sinking too low! I would n-n-never do something like this to him, not over some stupid grudge! This … this is probably the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. Worse than when I got my hair stuck in a fan at Lindley Logan’s birthday bash! If I’m voted off tonight without that picture, I don’t know what I’ll do.” She stared up at them with deep brown puppy dog eyes. “Please, will you help me just this once? I might be mean, but I’m human too.” Victor and Monique turned to Sebastian with pleading expressions. The card shark just raised an eyebrow at Elena. “We’ll see.” “Welcome, Emmys, to your third Team Choice Awards!” Chris stood beneath the spotlight on the elimination stage. “It was a close call, but you ended up losing the challenge by a hair … and to the slacker, too!” “Don’t talk about it.” Risty grumbled. “Oh, I’m talking about it.” The host smiled. “I take it you’re not feeling great about what happened?” “Of course I’m not.” The big-haired jock responded. “I lost us the challenge!” “I don’t think you're the one we're blaming.” Gabe hissed, eyes shifting over to glare at Elena. “Well, let me add some more fuel to keep your pain train going, Risty!” Chris gestured to the gold stars lined up on the front of the stage. Five of them were shattered to pieces, their names barely legible. “As you can see, you guys have lucked out and had only had one team member voted out. That ends today.” He tapped on the only broken star with red text on it. “Will Risty be the next Emmy to join Zack in Loserville, or will it be another one of you taking the Red Carpet of Shame? You’ve all cast your votes …” Confession Cam Minerva: “Elena. Duh. Did you really think I wouldn’t vote for her?” Victor: “I hate to say it, but Elena’s sob story seemed legit, so I’m going to have to vote for Gabe. That move was so heartless that even I'' wouldn’t have done it.” '''Gabe:' “Elena, Elena, Elena!” He gave the camera a wave. “Say hi to the devil when you get back to where you came from, succubus!” “The first silver star,” Chris held up the symbol of safety, “goes to Risty. You were the only player without a Y chromosome to make it to the final round, but you represented the ladies very well!” The athlete caught her star, a relieved smile spreading across her face. “Thank you so much for keeping me around, guys.” “Did you really think we’d vote you off for something as little as that?” Sebastian asked. “Um, yeah, I kind of did.” The athlete frowned. “I fell for Isaac’s stupid trick.” “Happens to the best of us.” Wes said with a laugh. “Enough with the mushy stuff, I have some eliminating to do!” Chris shouted. “The next stars are for Sebastian and Victor, the other round three qualifiers. Wes, Minerva, and Ophelia are also safe for making it to round two, and Donna and Monique managed to stick around even though they totally bombed round one.” “Physical challenges are not my strong suit.” Donna stated. “Yeah, we can tell.” Chris snickered. “And that just leaves Elena and Gabe. This feels a lot like a case of déjà vu, doesn’t it? If Camille hadn’t been a wanted criminal, one of you would already be out.” “Yeah, we get it. Thank god for escaped fugitives.” Elena snapped. “Can you just hurry up?” “Why, you got a hot date you’re late for?” Gabe retorted. “Dudes, seriously, just shut up already.” Chris huffed. “I am so glad one of you is actually going home. The final star goes too … “Elena.” “What?!” Gabe yelped. “What?!” Minerva screeched. Elena caught her star and waggled it at Gabe. “Sayonara, loser!” “What ... I … I don’t understand! What happened?” Gabe stood up and faced his team. “Why'd you vote me off? She’s the one that cost us the challenge!” “We know what you did.” Monique explained. “That was a dick move, Gabe, even for you.” “ … What are you talking about?” The spoiled teen asked. “I didn’t do anything!” “Time to go, bra.” Chris waved him off. Gabe let out an angry grunt before trudging over to the Red Carpet of Shame. Once he stepped onto it, the carpet began to move beneath his feet. “Sweet baby Jesus!” Gabe cried as the carpet accelerated, launching him into the open limo door. Chef Hatchet slammed the door behind him before climbing into the driver’s seat and pulling away. The Emmys stared after him, many beginning to doubt if voting off the rich kid had been the right decision. Confession Cam Elena: The gossip’s face was curled into a pain-stricken frown. “Oh no, it was so awful! How could he do this?!” Her expression transformed into a mischievous grin. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I completely make up that story about Gabe and my photo? Yes, yes I did.” The dark-haired girl let out a sinister laugh before crossing her legs elegantly. “Sebastian’s alliance had no idea that I was faking it, and now I have them twisted around my little finger like I’ve wanted since the beginning. You just wait. I might’ve fallen my knees today, but that’s a onetime deal. Next time, they’ll be begging to me.” A pajama-clad Irina stepped into her new room, pulling the towel off of her head and shaking out her wet hair. As she began to run a comb through the long, blonde strands, she heard mattress springs creak from behind her. “ … Irina?” The blonde bombshell turned to look at Cara, who was sitting on the end of her bed. “Finally ready to talk?” “I think so.” Cara said. “But it’s not about Camille – I mean Veronique. I don’t want to think about her ever again.” “Oh?” Irina sat beside her. “Then what’s this about?” “Isaac.” A small smile crept onto the model’s face. “Of course.” Cara let out a nervous giggle, a pink tint rising to her tanned cheeks. “You don’t have to say it like that.” “Like what?” The Russian teased in a sing-song. “Like that!” The environmentalist said, her voice squeaking nervously. “What is this? Truth or dare on the playground?” “In Russia, the only option was dare.” Cara’s eyes widened. “Oh god, that sounds awful.” Irina cracked up. “I’m just kidding. Didn’t want you to be nervous when you tell me all about your crush.” “It sounds so lame when you call it a crush. I just … he was so different in the challenge today, but, like, a good kind of different!” The nature lover excitedly explained. “Like, before he seemed like he didn’t care about anything or anybody, but today he actually tried. Not only that, but he won for us. Paul had me questioning his honesty when he messed with Wes’s voice, but today … seeing him try so hard for us … I don’t know, something just clicked!” “That little heart shaped light bulb in your head flicked on?” Irina asked with a sly grin. Cara nodded her head. “Something like that. It’s just seeing him care about something made me think that maybe … he could possibly care about me?” “There’s the Cara I know.” The beautiful blonde laced her fingers on her lap. “So, what're you going to do with this new revelation?” Cara’s face lit up with a bright red blush. “I … um …” She was lost in thought for a moment before letting out a nervous squeal. “Ah, I’m not good with this stuff!” “I think you can figure it out if you think really hard.” Irina casually got off the bed and returned to combing her hair. "I have a good feeling that he’ll definitely say yes.” The cafeteria was shrouded in darkness until the refrigerator door swung open, the fridge light cutting through the black. Isaac leaned over and rustled through its contents, pushing aside the fresh vegetables and fruit at the front of the shelf to dig for something with a bit more substance. Actually putting an effort into a challenge burned out a lot of energy, which when combined with the disgusting lunch and dinner left him absolutely starving. He immediately halted his desperate hunt, however, when he heard the cafeteria doors creak open. Somebody’s shoes clicked on the tile floor with their every step, and Isaac slowly shut the fridge, hoping that the intruder hadn’t noticed that he was in the kitchen. Grabbing a nearby frying pan to defend himself, he crept towards the door, completely silent except for his breathing. On the count of three, he burst through the swinging door, wielding the frying pan like a baseball bat. “You’re not gonna get me tonight, Escaped Psycho Killer with a Chainsaw and a Hook!” Avery was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest and her legs crossed at the ankles, a smug expression on her face. “Getting a midnight snack? More soda and waffles?” Isaac’s tense shoulders relaxed, his hand that was holding the frying pan flopping to his side. “Oh, it’s you.” “You don’t have to sound so disgusted.” “I think I’d prefer it if you were the psycho killer.” She didn’t even seem offended by the remark. Isaac turned around and placed his frying pan on the counter. “For your information, I’m not looking for waffles this time. I’m not going near anything I have to cook, ‘cause that challenge tired me out.” Avery smirked. “Sounds like you need to improve your stamina. Nobody likes a guy who doesn’t last very long.” One side of Isaac’s mouth curled upward. “Look at you with the innuendos. I figured you’d think that was above you.” “I’m a lot more laidback than you think.” The drama queen claimed. “A bad attitude gets you nowhere.” The underachiever rolled his eyes. “Says the girl whose main role in this competition has been bossing her teammates around.” “I didn’t see anybody else stepping up to the leadership role, so I took it. And you’re one to talk. All you’ve done on the show is bully your teammates and hit on Cara.” “You see, there’s a difference between you and me.” Isaac stepped closer so he could keep his voice down, wary of the patrolling security guards that could step in at any minute. “People like me for what I do. You … well, for you it’s the exact opposite.” Avery pointed at him with a well-manicured nail. “''You'' like me.” Isaac snorted. “Yeah, sure.” “You can’t lie to me.” The diva’s brow curved into a perfect arch. “You think I don’t have experience dealing with stupid boys like you?” “Who’s lying?” The troublemaker held his hands out. “Last time I checked, I completely hate you.” “It’s not that simple.” Avery’s half-lidded eyes looked like those of a predator. “Hate is a passionate emotion, Isaac, and I think you might have your feelings confused. You want to hate me, but you can’t fight the intense attraction.” “Why would you-” “I’m just speaking from experience. We’re two sides of the same coin.” She admitted. “I want to hate you, but I can’t. I want to vote you off and never have to see your face again, but I won’t. Everything you do annoys me, but it’s because I want a different kind of attention from you. You don’t make sense to me, but for some reason that just makes me want you more and more.” Neither was aware of how it had happened, but at some point Isaac had moved much closer to Avery. They were eye-to-eye now, their faces just inches apart. Avery lifted a hand to rest on his chest, and Isaac let out a sigh. “I … um …” “You annoy the hell out of me,” The drama queen purred, her voice barely above a whisper, “but I can't stop thinking of how much I need you to be mine.” Isaac licked his lower lip. “I don’t know if I want to hit you or kiss you right now.” Avery gave him a seductive smile. “I know which one I'' want to do.” Isaac pushed her back against the wall and thrust his head forward to meet her lips, his brain interpreting her words as an invitation. Avery opened her mouth with a light gasp, tangling her fingers in his overgrown hair as their tongues met. One messy kissed turned to two, then three, then many, many more as lips began to roam. In a split second of awareness, Isaac pulled away from Avery’s neck, though he stayed close enough that they were still practically sharing breaths. “But … Cara …” Avery placed her palm on top of his hand, smoothly guiding it down to rest on her hip, right on top of the cold metal zipper of her skirt. “Forget her.” And when he wrenched her closer and crushed their lips back together, Isaac convinced himself that, in that moment, forgetting about Cara was the best thing to do. '<<< Previous Chapter | Next Chapter >>>'''